


Rose White and Rose Red

by irismon



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Schneeweisschen und Rosenrot | Snow-white and Rose-red (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Retellings, but it never comes to anything, getting rid of plot holes and general wth ness, gratuitous use of the word rose, threatening death and bodily harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 22:11:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1874319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irismon/pseuds/irismon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Rose White, Rose Red, would you wish that wizard dead?</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Two sisters fall in love and outsmart an extremely vindictive wizard. A retelling of Snow White and Rose Red.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rose White and Rose Red

Once upon a time a woman lived in a small cottage in the woods. When her twin daughters were born, she planted two rose bushes just outside the window of her house. The two bushes grew every year along with her daughters and they intertwined until you could not tell one bush apart from the other, except for when they bloomed, for one bush grew white roses and the other red roses. And so the woman named her two daughters Rose White and Rose Red, and wished that the two would never be parted.

The two sisters grew up true to their mother’s wishes. In the summer they would make each other flower crowns made from the rose bushes, and in the winter they would read to each other in the evenings as they sat by the fire. They always helped one another with their chores, and even slept in the same room.

One year, during a cold winter evening, the two girls sat by the fire. Snow had fallen steadily all day, and after Rose White and Rose Red had played the day away in the snow it continued to fall, even after the sun had set. A hollow knock can from the front door. Rose Red leapt up to open it, and found a huge black Bear waiting outside in the snow, breathing hot air that turned into mist. Rose Red shrieked and closed the door, but her mother scolded her and let the bear inside. He was very large, almost too large to fit through the doorway, and his back was covered with inches of white snow.

“Rose White, Rose Red,” the old woman said, “Grab the broom and clean off our guest.”

“Careful,” the Bear warned. “I have a friend riding on my back.”

Rose White carefully brushed the larger clumps of snow off the Bear’s back and found a small, red Fox there. He yawned and slid off onto the floor. Rose White brushed the snow off the Fox while Rose Red cleaned the Bear off with the broom.

The Bear settled down by the fire, and the two girls leaned up against him, the Fox in their lap. Once he felt warm enough, the Fox sprang up and began to run around the room.

“Chase me, chase me!” he yelled, and Rose Red jumped up and ran after him, laughing every time the Fox jumped just out of her reach.

Rose White settled herself against the Bear’s warm fur and watched the fire as her sister played with the Fox.

“I’ve never seen a bear like you before,” Rose White said.

“Oh?” The Bear said, and Rose White nodded.

“My sister and I have been all through the forest, and explored every cave, and never have I seen a bear as large or as black as you.”

“That is because my cave is hidden with magic,” The Bear said. “It is filled with magical treasures made of gold and silver and jewels, and I must stay there and guard it. There is an evil wizard in these woods who would steal all my treasure and use its magic for evil. But it is safe now, because the Wizard never leaves his home when there is snow on the ground or chill in the air, since he hates the cold and has no winter coat.”

“Oh,” said Rose White, “If only this wizard were not so wicked. Then you could sit with me by the fire every evening.” The Bear said no more that night and neither did Rose White, and she listened to her sister laugh and the fire crackle and the Bear breathe in and out until it was time for bed.

It snowed often that winter, and whenever it did the Bear and the Fox would come to stay at Rose White and Rise Red’s home and warm by their fire. One such night, after Rose Red had gotten tired of playing, she sat with the Fox in her lap and stroked his fur.

“You aren’t like any fox I have ever met,” Rose Red said.

“Oh?” said the Fox, and Rose Red nodded.

“Rose White and I have been all through the forest, and befriended nearly all of its animals, and I’ve never heard of a Fox as quick and clever as you.”

“That’s because I have no time for friends,” the Fox said. “All year long I follow an evil wizard to keep him from casting spells on people who vex him. But I am free during the winter, since he hates the cold and doesn’t ever leave his house while snow is on the ground.”

“What a rotten little man!” Rose Red said. “Nobody that nasty deserves any magic at all. I wish someone would take it away from him; then you could come and play with me every evening.” The Fox said no more that night and neither did Rose Red, but the two of them did nudge and pinch and climb all over the Bear to make him growl until it was time for bed.

The next night that it snowed the Bear and the Fox came to visit again, and after Rose Red and the Fox had played the four of them lay by the fire, with the two girls lying against the Bear’s side and the Fox lying in their laps.

When the fire had burned nearly to ashes, the Fox stretched and said, “This is the last snowy night this winter. The Bear and I will not come to see you again for a long time.”

“Spring is coming soon,” the Bear said, “and the wizard will soon be leaving his house, so I must guard my treasure and Fox must follow him wherever he goes.”

“Oh no, you mustn't!” Rose White cried, throwing her arms around the Bear’s neck. “I have come to care for you so much; I can’t stand the thought of you leaving!” Rose Red stayed silent, but she felt the same way about the Fox. “Are you certain you can’t stay?”

“We have to go,” the Fox said, “We wish we could stay with you, but someone must keep the forest safe.”

Rose White and Rose Red went to bed unhappy. The next night, Rose White stayed up very late waiting by the door hoping that the Bear would return, but he never did. She fell asleep by the door, and Rose Red had to carry her upstairs to bed.

One morning afterward, Rose White and Rose Red went into the woods to collect kindling. They went to a clearing where they knew a fallen tree lay, and to their great surprise, they found a man there with a long, white beard. He was yelling and cursing and stamping his feet against the ground in a horrible temper tantrum. Rose White and Rose Red walked over to the man and saw that his beard was stuck in the fallen tree.

“Do you need some help, sir?” Rose Red asked him.

“Of course I do, you blockhead!” The man yelled. “I was cutting up this tree for firewood, but as soon as I pulled out my ax the fold closed, and my beautiful beard was stuck inside!”

Rose White and Rose Red both tried to pull it out, but the edge of the man’s beard was stuck tight. “I could go and ask someone for help,” Rose White suggested.

“What good is that?!” the man said. “You and your stupid sister are already here, and anyone you would go to fetch would only be stupider than the two of you.”

“There’s no need to be rude,” Rose Red told him. She pulled her pocket knife from her dress and cut off the part of the beard stuck in the tree.

“You rotten twerp!” The man cried, “You’ll pay for ruining my wonderful beard. I’ll curse you both, so you’ll never find your way home!” He stared at them with hateful red eyes and began to say strange, magical words the sisters did not understand. Before he could finish his spell, a fox ran out into the clearing and bit the man on the ankle.

“Yow!” He cried, and ran off, completely forgetting about the two sisters and his firewood.

The fox stayed just long enough for Rose Red to get a good look at it, and then it ran off after the man.

“Oh! Oh dear!” Rose Red cried. “That was my Fox! I would recognize him anywhere.”

“Then that man was not a man at all,” Rose White said. “He is that evil wizard who wants to steal my Bear’s treasure.”

The morning was nearly gone, so the two girls gathered their kindling, took the piece of beard carefully from the fallen tree (“For,” Rose White had said, “the Bear told us his beard is magical, so we can’t just leave it here.”) and went home. They hid the piece of beard inside their mother’s sewing kit.

The two girls took their bait and tackle and went to catch some fish for lunch. But when they reached the stream, they saw the wizard there, his beard tangled up in his fishing line.

“Maybe we should help him,” said Rose White.

“Why should we?” Rose Red asked. “When we helped him before he tried to curse us!”

“But the Fox stopped him! And if his beard is too badly tangled, we have a chance to cut off some of it and steal his magic.”

Rose Red couldn’t argue with this, so the two sisters went to go help the old wizard. Rose Red held him still, and Rose White took the scissors she had brought to cut the fishing line and cut the wizard’s beard.

“You ugly little devils! I should curse you two so your hand will burn when you touch any metal. Then you can never cut my beard again!” The wizard began to chant menacingly, but the two sisters stood their ground, unafraid. They knew that the Fox would protect them, and they were right. The wizard had barely started his spell when the Fox darted out of the reeds by the stream and bit the wizard on the leg. The wizard howled and stamped, blundering off into the woods. The Fox glanced at Rose Red before running after him. Rose White tucked the piece of beard into her dress pocket, and when she and Rose Red had caught enough fish for lunch, they went home and hid the piece of beard in their mother’s sewing kit.

Their mother asked them to go into town and run some errands, so the two sisters braided flowers into their hair and walked down the road. As they reached the edge of the forest, they heard a loud and familiar yell. They ran out of the edge of the woods, and saw the wizard on the road in front of them. An eagle had caught its talons in the wizard’s beard, and was pulling him almost up off the ground. Rose White ran forward and grabbed the edge of the wizard’s coat, pulling him and the eagle downwards. The eagle tore itself free, taking a piece of the wizard’s beard along with it, but Rose Red jumped up and snatched it off of the eagle’s talons before it flew away. She tucked it into the pocket of her dress, and then turned around to see the wizard stamping and hollering at her sister.

“You hateful little nincompoops,” the wizard yelled. “You ruined my beard and my best coat! I’ll curse you good this time. When I’m done you won’t recognize each other for the rest of your lives!”

The wizard raised up his hands, but before he could say the spell the fox ran out of the forest and jumped up, biting the wizard’s hands. The wizard screamed and howled, and the two sisters ran off down the road, not wanting to be near the angry man while there were no trees to obscure them from view. They soon crossed a bend in the road and could no longer see him.

The two sisters finished their errands in town, buying new needles and thread for their mother. As they left town, it was nearing evening. The two sisters were walking home in the fading light when Rose Red grabbed her sister’s arm. “Look over there,” she said, pointing to the edge of the forest. “It’s the wizard! And he’s got something with him.” Rose White looked to where her sister was pointing and saw the wizard bend over and empty a brown sack onto the ground. Gold and jewels, more beautiful and brilliant than anything the sisters had ever seen, fell out into the dirt.

“Do you think it’s the Bear’s treasure?” Rose Red asked, but she had not finished speaking when Rose White marched over the wizard.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, grabbing at the bag in his hands. “Where did you get those things?”

“Get back, get back,” the wizard cried. He pulled the bag away from Rose White and pushed her onto the ground. “These things are mine, they belong to me now.”

Rose Red was furious that the wizard had hurt her sister. “I bet you stole them!” she yelled. “I bet you stole them from the Bear. You’re a heartless old man, and you don’t deserve any magic at all!”

“I’ll curse you for that, you stupid girl!” the wizard yelled. “I’ll curse your sister so that she’ll fall asleep and never wake up; I’ll curse you so you’ll die!”

The wizard held up his hands and chanted, saying words that Rose Red didn’t understand and staring at her with horrible red eyes. Rose Red was terrified, but Rose White wasn’t afraid. All the feeling in her heart was taken up with anger at the old wizard for stealing the bear’s treasure.

She stood up and grabbed her sister’s hand. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose White saw something move at the edge of the forest. It was far bigger and darker than the Fox. She pulled Rose Red back just in time as the Bear ran forward and struck the wizard with his huge paws. The wizard fell to the ground and didn’t move again.

“Oh, my Bear!” Rose White cried, and threw her arms around the Bear’s neck. The Fox slid down from where he rested on the Bear’s back, and Rose Red knelt down to hold him. Rose White buried her face into the Bear’s fur and felt something strange there. She put her hand there and felt that something was loose. She pulled on it, and the bearskin fell away, revealing a large young man kneeling beside her. Rose Red stared in astonishment, and then began working her fingers through the Fox’s fur. She found a strange seam behind one of his ears and pulled on it, taking the fox skin away and leaving a thin young man sitting across from her.

“We’re the mayor’s sons,” the Fox-man explained. “We met the wizard in the woods, and he cursed us for keeping him from stealing from a cave of magic treasure. After that, I began to follow him everywhere, to keep him from cursing other people the way he cursed us.”

“And I guarded the magic treasure,” the Bear-man added, “so that he wouldn't take it and become more powerful. But he found the cave where I was hiding it; that’s why he has it now. He thought that he was safe out here, since his curse had originally bound us to the forest, but he had lost power when you cut his beard, so we were able to leave it.

“We should go home and tell our parents that we are safe at last, and I know your mother will worry if you don’t get home before dark, but can we come to visit you tomorrow?”

Of course!” Rose White exclaimed. “But first, please, can we know your names?”

The Bear-man smiled. “I’m Bernard,” he said. “And my brother is Reynard.”

The two sisters walked home and told their mother everything that had happened that day. Rose White was almost too excited to sleep that night, but Rose Red forced to bed by reminding her that she didn’t want to fall asleep the next day while Bernard was there. By the time the brothers arrived the next day, Rose White and Rose Red had cleaned their whole house, put on their best dresses, and braided flowers into each other’s hair.

The two brothers had brought a large sack with them. Bernard reached into it and pulled out beautiful treasures: golden cups, diamond hairpins, ruby crowns. “We put all the enchanted treasure back in the cave,” Bernard explained, “but we still had plenty left over. Since the two of you broke the curse in the first place, we thought it was only right to share it with you.”

“I don’t need any treasure,” Rose White said, walking to Bernard’s side. “I just want to stay with you forever.”

“All the same,” Rose Red added, “some treasure would be nice.”

“Then we shall have both!” Reynard exclaimed, taking Rose Red’s hands in his own. “I will marry you, Rose Red, if you will have me, and my brother will marry Rose White, as I am certain they both wish, and we will divide the treasure and live comfortably all our lives.”

They did just that. Rose White and Rose Red moved into neighboring town houses to live with their husbands, and if either of them missed the other then all they needed to do was lean over the garden gate. Rose White and Rose Red’s mother continued to live in the forest, but her two daughters and their husbands visited her often, and when they did they always stopped to admire the two rose bushes twined together, blooming red and white flowers. 

**Author's Note:**

> The original Brothers Grimm story is a bit different. Rose White is named Snow White, there is no fox character, and the angry antagonist is a dwarf. You can read the full thing online at Surlalunefairytales.com.


End file.
